


Celeste

by Ebaki



Category: Deadpool (Movieverse), Guardians of the Galaxy (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: F/F, F/M, Fluff, Highschool AU, M/M, Reboot, Will add more tags in future, the avengers and guardians play a slightly more prominent role, this time with a hopefully more consistent story
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-07
Updated: 2020-12-07
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:02:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,868
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27934312
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ebaki/pseuds/Ebaki
Summary: [Reboot of my original story with the same name]Neena Thurman (though she preferred to go by the nickname 'Domino') had never fallen. She had never tripped on the stairs, slipped in the hall, stumbled over uneven ground; she’s just insanely lucky. Even socially and academically, she’s never fallen, she has never failed a test, never made a massive fool of herself that’s knocked her down the social ladder (which is surprising, considering her friendship with Wade). Nobody had ever, not once, seen her fall (which is ironic, considering her nickname was Domino).Which is why, when she caught her best friend making heart-eyes at the new girl, she was determined to give her friend the best shot at a date possible.
Relationships: Ellie Phimister/Yukio (Deadpool Movies)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 7





	Celeste

**Author's Note:**

> Here it is! The long awaited reboot! Sorry it's a day late, I wanted to add in some stuff but got too tired last night. Hopefully I can do these characters more justice than last time! Please leave a review to tell me what you think!
> 
> First chapter's title comes from the song 'Are We Having Any Fun Yet?' by Larkins.
> 
> TW: Implied/ Referenced suicide, homophobia and bullying. (minor OC; his death is necessary to i guess 'set the scene' for the severity of the homophobia and bullying at the school).
> 
> Also some internalised homophobia from El.

The first day of the school year at Xavier’s High School for Gifted Children was always a simultaneously fastidious and frenzied event to Domino. Students, cleanshaven with new supplies and freshly ironed school blazers from staying with their parents over the summer break would clutter the hallway in the meantime, trying to squeeze in all their greetings and catchups to friends they’d missed in the five minutes they could before they were due to be quiet and seated in their chairs in the auditorium. Full of nervous energy, trepidation and - for the highschool seniors, like her – a feeling of existential dread or perhaps impending doom, students would flood the hallowed wood-and-stone halls, heading for their dorms to pack away their things haphazardly, before streaming to the auditorium for the Headmaster’s annual speech. Undoubtedly, he would speak to all of the incoming students and staff about ‘what a year’ the pupils would soon have; a year of studious learning, friendships and teenage angst.

The auditorium - newly built and luxurious with a large stage at the front and rows and rows of chairs extended to the back to seat all the children and teachers - would soon fill and the Headmaster would merely have to clear his throat into the microphone on the podium to silence all the murmurs to begin his welcoming speech, recounting the trials and tribulations of the previous year and expressing his sincerest hopes that this next year would be just as good – or better – than the last. Then, everyone would pray, some songs would be sung, or a particularly talented student would play a complex piece that sounded like you probably needed three hands to complete it on the piano, before finally the Deputy Headmistress would dismiss the students according to year group to each have a meeting in _another_ room someplace else to acquire their student diaries and timetables. (Very inconvenient and unnecessary, if you asked Domino).

It went this way, the same way, every year, like clockwork. Needless to say, Domino was feeling quite bored and restless already by the time she’d dumped her things on her bed in her room, which was shared with another senior girl named Nebula (a surly, quiet girl with a shaved head and dark eyes).

Domino didn’t really speak to her and honestly hadn’t tried to, despite the years they’d been roomed together; the girl looked like she might break her fingers in her sleep should she attempt a conversation. Said girl was sitting on her bed, leaning on the bedframe and reading a book, seemingly unaware of or just ignoring Domino’s presence. Probably the latter.

One thing she noticed that was different about Nebula was the cast on her left forearm. It looked clean and new. She’d probably gotten it shortly before term began. Domino briefly wondered if she should ask about it, you know, to show concern for her dormmate, but as the thought crossed her mind, Nebula’s dark eyes flitted up from the pages of her book to meet hers and her courage dissolved at the inscrutable stare she received.

Domino quickly exited the room after a mumbled half-greeting, half-farewell and immediately found herself stuck in the usual stream of black-and-yellow clad students rushing to and from or otherwise loitering outside their dorms. She pushed her way through the crowd trying to find her friend, Ellie Phimister, (though she preferred to go by ‘El’), whom she hoped had already been dropped off by her parents.

Domino usually arrived to the first day of term later than her friend, as she often found it difficult to leave the soft folds of her bedsheets and pack her things on time. Since the school was in the middle of a forest in the middle of nowhere, a few minutes away from an incredibly small town and situated a few hour’s drive from her parents’ place, her last-minute packing occurred early in the morning and under the pressure of her frantically shouting mother.

(“‘Pack the night before?’” She’d always echo her parents words, before laughing and wandering off to her room to do anything but that. It was always the same mistake but Domino found everything always worked out for her in the end, so she’d never bothered to kick the habit.)

Thankfully, Domino heard a voice calling “Hey, Dom! Over here!” And directed herself toward the arm poking above the heads of her peers to where El stood off to one side. Another girl, a pretty young woman with long, dark brown hair and a soft smile, stood next to her.

“Fashionably late as usual, Domino? Why am I not surprised?” Said Vanessa, another of Domino’s friends and El’s roommate, before opening her arms to give a quick hug to their incoming friend.

“Yeah, yeah… I’m still on time!” Domino replied playfully, before turning to Ellie to give her a shorter hug (El wasn’t fond of hugs) and giving a start of surprise. Like Nebula, El had apparently opted to shave her head before the start of term. It took a moment for Domino to regain her composure. El seemed to be growing uncomfortable under her wide-eyed stare, but when she did calm down, Domino’s face split into a wide grin and she reached up to run her hand over the side of her friend’s buzz.

“I like your hair. Or well, lack thereof.” She commented, retracting her hand. It suited her, although Domino would miss her flowing locks of dark brown hair that reached well past her shoulders. It was fun to braid, seeing as she couldn’t braid her own wild afro. El ducked her head in acknowledgement of her friend’s compliment, a small smile tugging at the corner of her lips which betrayed how pleased she was to have Domino’s approval, before running her own hand over her shaved head.

“Do your parents like it?” Domino asked. El’s parents had always been very conservative. Devout Christians with strong values and stronger opinions, Domino had always felt a little intimidated by them. She, a black girl, wasn’t always accepted by their ‘type’, and although El claimed they had no problem with her at all, she preferred to keep their meetings short and polite.

“Not really, but when have they ever liked anything I do?” El sniffed, crossing her arms in an I-don’t-care kind of way.

Domino just shrugged, opting to ask another question instead of answering.

“Speaking of your parents, did your dad sign the petitions you told us about?”

El nodded, her unhappiness betrayed in the way her right eye twitched. “Mum did too. And then I went and shaved my head in the upstairs bathroom. She almost had a fit when I came back downstairs.”

Vanessa turned and scanned the crowd before them, but still addressed them as she said “Well, I think it looks great. You might have some trouble with Mrs Dust, though. She gives Nebula a lot of crap for her hair, even though it never says explicitly in the school rules that you can’t shave it. But then again everyone knows she’s a madwoman on a power trip.”

“That’s true,” Domino grunted. “She told me I should put mine up too. I told her that if she manages it herself, I’ll wear it up, and then she gave me five Friday detentions!”

El snorted, slipping her hands into her blazer pockets. “We know. You’ve told us the story only a hundred times. Although last time, you said she only gave you two detentions. And they were on Monday.”

Domino quirked an eyebrow. “Are you questioning my honesty?”

“No, just your memory.” El replied cheekily. “Ever since you hit your head the last time we sparred, your stories haven’t been consistent.”

“Oh you watch out, Phimister; next time I’m flattening you.” Domino threatened, though she was smiling as she said it.

“You know, I could have sworn it was a self-defence class you two were participating in, not a fight club,” said Vanessa, before jerking her head in the direction of the double doors, which students were flooding through heading toward the auditorium. “C’mon. Let’s see if we can’t catch the boys before Mr Xavier’s speech.”

The three quickly joined the mass of people and were instantly swallowed by the crowd that bustled them into the large auditorium, before taking their places in their chairs at the back of the hall, where the seniors sit. They hadn’t run into Wade, Cable or Piotr on their way here, so Domino preoccupied herself with examining the mass of students that filled the room with them, trying to pick out her friends in the haze of faces.

She found Piotr almost immediately, of course, it was hard to miss him when he was over six feet tall. Next to him on his right side, sure enough, was Wade Wilson, and on his other side stood Nathan Summers (but he preferred to be called Cable), looking sullen and none too keen to be back at school. Wow! They had all come to school on time! A momentous occasion indeed. They should celebrate, she decided internally. ‘First time and probably the LAST they had ALL managed to come to school on the first day’! Huffing with amusement, she turned her attention back to the Headmaster, who was coming to stand (or, well, remain seated in his wheelchair) in front of his podium.

Mr. Xavier was a friendly and quite eccentric man. He was a certified genius, with more PhDs than Domino could remember, and had apparently been quite an athlete too before an incident had left him confined to a wheelchair. He seemed highly concerned with the wellbeing of his students, and he was always happy to chat with them about their home lives and interests, and he took special care in making sure new students settled in well. Domino liked him as a Headmaster quite a bit, likening him to a bald, younger Dumbledore of sorts.

Today, however, he held no trace of a smile on his face as he addressed the school. Everyone had already fallen silent, perplexed by his sombre attitude.

“Welcome back, students, to another year at Xavier’s High School for Gifted Children.” He began, his voice soft and smooth. “I hope you have had a wonderful holiday, and are well-rested and ready for the term ahead.” He paused, letting his gaze travel solemnly over the crowd of students who sat, tense and anxious, before him.

“I come bearing grave news,” He finally continued. “One of our students - Colin Hart - passed away last night in hospital, and will not be returning to school.”

Gasps and distressed mutters broke out, while, on the other side of the auditorium, someone let out a grief-stricken cry, which was quickly muffled. El had tensed next to her, while Vanessa sighed, lowering her head. Domino’s own heart twisted in her chest. She hadn’t known the boy personally; he had been in the year below them, but she had seen the terrible bullying he had endured online over the summer. He had been photographed holding hands with a boy down at the beach, a photo which had been posted to a Facebook page the students had created, and malicious rumours and taunts had quickly spread. Domino had reported many of the comments, most of which had been taken down by the site, but now she thought bleakly that she should have tried to do more. That is, if the reason for his hospitalisation was what she thought it was.

“Due to the nature of Mr Hart’s death and the incidents leading up to it, a police inquiry has been called, and they are now looking into the issue.” Mr Xavier pressed on. His voice sharpened suddenly. “I hope all of you take heed of the lessons behind this tragedy, and _think_ before you click ‘Post’ from now on.” He hesitated, seeming to want to say more, but hearing the muffled sobs continuing before him, he seemed to soften and continue quietly. “There will be a funeral held on Wednesday. I encourage all of you who were friends of Mr Hart who are able to attend to do so, and to all others to send their support to Mr Hart’s family.”

An exaggerated yawn sounded from behind Domino, and she snapped her head around to glare at the boy who had released it, unsurprised to see Cain, a brutish, thuglike boy with broad shoulders, who stood three inches taller than Piotr. He curled his lip into a sneer and returned her stare. El had also turned to glare venomously at Cain, her eyes smouldering with anger, but she too remained silent. Domino bit her tongue to stop her from snarling at him, and forced herself to turn back around. She gently rested her knee against El’s comfortingly, and eventually the other girl too turned back around, letting out a long breath through her nose.

After this, Mr Xavier continued with his welcome announcements, which went on for a treacherously long time. Domino fantasised about breaking Cain’s nose with a well-placed punch to pass the time. Eventually, Mr Xavier signalled for Mrs Dust, the Deputy Headmistress (a shockingly well-muscled and bad tempered woman) to dismiss the students to their usual year meetings.

-+-

“That poor boy,” Vanessa murmured as they made their way to the classroom they’d been told they’d receive their diaries and time tables with the rest of their year group from. The sun was still rising as they walked, burning off the last of the mist that hung around the forest-enclosed school.

El just spat furiously, seemingly unable to put her disgust into words.

“I have half a mind to shove a pencil up Cain’s nose after that little stunt he pulled in the auditorium,” said Domino darkly, eyeing the boy’s head which stuck out over the crowd of the much shorter students.

“I have half a mind to do the same to almost every other student at this dumb school,” El retorted, her eyes still blazing. “It wasn’t just him bullying Colin online – in fact, he wasn’t even the worst one! This whole school is thick with homophobes.”

Vanessa and Domino shared a knowing, concerned look over El’s head. They were the only two people who knew El’s secret – that she herself was a lesbian.

It had come out accidentally. Domino had snuck into their dorm room one night three years prior to gossip and eat sweets under the blanket of night, away from the prying eyes and ears of teachers and their male friends, and the conversation had inexplicably turned to boys and romance.

While Domino and Vanessa had animatedly discussed the many attractive and unattractive attributes of their male classmates, El had listened in idly without contributing. Domino had turned to her at some point, and asked her if she’d noticed any boys she found attractive.

El had seemed startled and unprepared and had blurted out - probably due to being half asleep at the time - that she didn’t notice boys, but girls. She’d been so horrified with herself she’d left the room and not come back for 45 minutes, after which Domino and Vanessa told her again and again that no, it wasn’t a problem and no, it didn’t bother them at all, and yes, they still wanted to be her friend, and after about 20 minutes of these reassurances, El had forced them to promise not to tell anyone, _ever._

And so they hadn’t. For three years, it had been a secret guarded fiercely by the two of them, for El’s sake. Not even the boys knew.

Speaking of the boys, Wade, Cable and Piotr trotted up behind them at this exact moment.

“Hey, guys!” Wade said cheerfully, completely unaware of the sombre atmosphere permeating the air around his fellow students. Vanessa hissed a greeting and began to tell him to ‘read the room’ and keep his voice down, a moment which Domino took to listen to the conversations happening between the other students surrounding them as they walked.

It seemed everyone in the entire year was talking about the same thing, sharing their own views and opinions on Colin’s death. Listening in, she picked up some heated comments from a dark-haired girl named Gamora, Nebula’s sister, who seemed to be vehemently berating the bullies who had attacked Colin over the summer. Gamora’s boyfriend was nodding along with her, brows furrowed, but didn’t seem keen to offer his own opinion, seeming content to just let her rant.

Just ahead of Domino, were the twins Wanda and Pietro Maximoff, two students originally born in a country called Sokovia, who’d moved to America with their mother and father a few years ago. Not entirely meaning to eavesdrop, she caught the tail-end of their discussion. They spoke in hushed, urgent whispers, which, combined with their still-remaining Sokovian accents, made it hard for Domino to make out what they were saying, but she thought she heard Wanda saying to her brother:

“… what will happen then? Will the police come here? Will they question us?” Her voice was rising slightly in panic, causing Domino’s interest to sharpen. What were these two hiding?

Pietro answered her reassuringly. “They won’t come here. And if they do, why would they question us? We were not involved in any way. We will be fine as long as - ” Uh-oh.

Peitro met Domino’s gaze, which she tried to avert just a second too late. The blonde-haired boy snapped his mouth shut before hurriedly steering his sister away.

Domino watched them go with narrowed eyes, wondering what on earth the twins were so afraid of. She was drawn out of her thoughts by a shadow enveloping her in cool darkness. They’d reached the classrooms at the other side of the school.

The year group was bustled into a large room at the end of the block; those who were quick enough managed to snag seats, while the other less fortunate students either had to sit on the floor or stand at the back wall behind the desks while they waited for the year meeting to begin. Domino and her friends took up standing positions at the back of the classroom.

Mrs Munroe, a fiery and brusque African-American woman with a sharp intellect and a sharper tongue, greeted the students. She was their Year Advisor, the woman who managed their year-group activities and their year meetings. After a quick debrief about the week’s upcoming activities, which included an anti-bullying speech on Friday’s assembly, she began handing out their timetables.

“What?? Double Maths on Wednesday _and_ Friday??” Wade blanched, staring at his timetable in horror.

“You chose to keep Math,” Domino reminded him, examining her own timetable carefully. “Hey, El, Double Music on Thursday and a double free on Friday!”

But El wasn’t listening. Glancing up, she saw that the girl was staring at the front of the classroom, where Mrs Munroe was speaking with a girl Domino had never seen before. A young woman, Asian, with pink streaks in her black hair, who was standing nervously before the teacher, nodding along with what she was saying.

“El?” Domino asked, leaning over to wave a hand in front of her friend’s face.

“Hm? What?” El started in surprise, turn to look at Domino with a dazed expression.

Domino felt a grin breaking across her face at her friend’s stupefied appearance, but Mrs Munroe clearing her throat to draw the attention of the students back to her prevented her from being able to tease her properly.

“Now, now, everyone, settle down! I have one more announcement to make! I said QUIET!” She hushed the students still muttering mutinously about their timetables. “Right. We have a new student with us! Yukio Kutsuna and her family moved to America just recently, so I hope you all do your best to help her feel welcome!” She paused to allow the assembled seniors to mumble greetings, before pressing on.

“Domino! Could you come and see me please?” She asked. “The rest of you can wait for the bell to head to class.”

Domino exchanged a startled look with her friends, before hurrying to the front of the class to see what her year advisor wanted.

“Hey, miss. What can I do for you?” She said, injecting confidence into her smile.

Mrs Munroe returned her smile. “Hello, Domino. I was wondering if you could show Yukio here to her room, and then show her around the school for first period?” She asked, tilting her head in a friendly way as she regarded her. Domino and Mrs Munroe had always gotten along.

“Sure!” Domino replied enthusiastically, turning to beam at Yukio. The girl blushed and ducked her head in thanks. _Cute._

“Oh!” She said, struck by a sudden thought. “Could I bring El with me? I’m sure she’d be super happy to show Yukio around.” Domino asked Mrs Munroe, while an idea was already forming in her mind.

Mrs Munroe blinked in surprise but nodded. “If she’d like to. Just make sure you all head to class after recess break.” She instructed.

At that moment, the bell rang. Mrs Munroe dismissed them with another smile and wishing Yukio a good first day, before heading out of the classroom before it was blocked by a wave of students.

Domino turned to Yukio. “Lemme just grab my stuff and my friend, you stay here. Don’t worry; you’ll like her a lot.” With a wink at the new girl (who gave her a small smile and blushed again in response) she whisked around to fetch El.

The short-haired girl narrowed her eyes suspiciously at the wide grin on Domino’s face.

“What did Munroe want?” She asked cautiously. Domino’s smile grew.

“She wanted me to take Yukio on a tour of the school. I volunteered you to come along with me,” she answered with a pleased smirk.

El’s gaze flicked past her to where the new girl stood waiting. Then, she returned her gaze to Domino, a blush spreading across her cheeks. Then, shockingly, she scowled.

“And why do you think I’d want to do something like _that?_ ” She demanded angrily.

Domino’s face fell with a rush of bewilderment. “I dunno… I mean you looked like… I just thought…”

“Well, you thought _wrong,”_ El snapped, irritated. Domino glanced quickly behind her. Yukio was watching the exchanged with wide, anxious eyes, seeming to notice El’s outburst. Domino felt a flash of impatience and whipped her head back around to glare at El.

“Well, I’ve already told her you’re coming, and it’d be a bit rude if you don’t. So can you suck it up for the next 55 minutes?” She growled at her friend.

El opened her mouth for a sharp retort, looking like she wanted to argue some more, but then she glanced over at Yukio again and seemed to think better of it. Snapping her mouth shut, she barged past Domino to where Yukio stood, before standing stiffly next to the new girl with her arms folded over her chest. Yukio blinked at her nervously and shuffled away from her slightly. El didn’t even offer her a smile.

Domino sighed. This was _not_ how she’d imagined this would go.

**Author's Note:**

> So here is the first chapter of many! I was really nervous about posting this; I hope it isn't too underwhelming; I'm still really bad at setting up worlds. Hopefully my updates will become more frequent as I get more used to writing about this characters and they just sweep me along for the ride! I've missed writing and seeing all your comments and it would make my day if you let me know what you thought!


End file.
